Method and machine for making knitted loop fabric



J. RADIN June 14, 1955 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING KNITTED LOOP FABRIC Original Filed June 21, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

JA K RAD BY d) c a c JTTORNEY J. RADIN June 14, 1955 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING KNITTED LOOP FABRIC 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 21, 1952 FIG. 4.

INVENTOR.

JACK RAD/N A'TTORNEY June 14, 1955 J, A g 2,710,527

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING KNITTED LOOP FABRIC Original Filed June 21, 1952 :s Sheeis-Sheet 3 INVENTOR JACK RAD/N ATTORNEY States METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING KNITTED LOOP FABRIC Jack Radin, New York, N. Y., assignor to Supreme Knitting Machine Co., Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y.

6 Claims. (CI. 66-93) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making knitted loop fabric and is a division of the abandoned application filed June 21, 1952, Serial No. 294,827.

The conventional loop fabric produced by the usual method on a circular knitting machine comprises as many loops per inch as there are needles, and since all the needles successively produce both backing and loop stitches, the loop areas in resulting fabrics comprise a backing having as many stitches as there are loop stitches. Furthermore, the conventional method of producing such fabrics results in loops of very limited lengths, both because of the closeness of the loop-forming needles and the great number of needle pulls applied to the loop yarn per unit of its length. This is apparent from the fact that the noses of each of the closely spaced sinkers serve as loopforming anchorages for the loop yarn, each of such anchorages constituting a point producing an abrading effect on the yarn, due to the downward pull of the two needles flanking each sinker. Because of this action not only is it required, in conventional processes, to employ a relatively high grade of yarn with great tensile strength, but also to limit the height of the loop as determined by the distance of the nose of the sinker above its throat; for unless such relatively strong yarn and limited loop heights are employed, there is a serious danger that the yarn will become shredded during the operation. it is primarily within the contemplation of my invention to eliminate this danger, by making it possible to employ, in a circular knitting machine, a relatively low grade of yarn and to obtain substantially greater loop lengths than is obtained with conventional methods.

in the accomplishment of the above-mentioned objective, I employ conventional independent latch needles in conjunction with retractable sinkers, but instead of having each needle perform a loop-forming operation, my novel method provides for keeping certain needles at welt or inoperative level while other pre-selected needles are elevated to a level where they will take the loop yarn and perform a stitching operation. The unselected needles, that is, those directed to a Welt position at one station, are employed as loop-forming needles at the next station, Whereas the loop-forming needles of the previous station are directed, at the next station, to a welt position. For example, in a preferred form of my invention, alternate needles are selected for loop-forming purposes at one station, whereas the unselected alternate needles perform the looping operation at the next station, and so on about the cylinder. The arrangement is hence such, that, with this specific form, there are twice as many stitches for the backing as there are loop stitches for a given course, the loops, however, being substantially longer than are formed in conventional analogous machines.

It is another object of my invention to produce a loop fabric with such elongated loop formations as to give it a softness and absorbing properties not to be found in conventional loop knitted fabric.

all

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings andthe description hereinafter given. Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of two .stations of a circular knitting machine showing an arrangement of elevating and depressing cams, needles and sinkers for employing the method of my invention to produce high-loop. fabric with a backing of twice :as many stitches per course as there are loops.

Figure 2 is a schematic side viewof a projected sinker of Figure l with loop and backing yarn in place.

Figure 3 is aperspective schematic view of a series of sinkers and needles employed in the arrangement'of Figure 1, two sinkers being shown .by dot-dash lines in retracted positions, and ,1

Figure 4 is an enlargeddiagrammatic representation of a fragment of knitted fabric produced by the apparatus and method exemplified by the structures of Figures 1 and 2. I

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary schematic view like Fig. 1,

showing the arrangements of cams, needles and yarn the wheel permitting needles not engagd by the jacks to,

pass therethrough. I

In the drawing, there are two different series of needles, to wit, those with black butts identified by the reference numeral 8, and those with white butts. identified by the reference numeral 9, needles of both series being in alternate arrangement, as illustrated.

During the operative movement of the machine, -t-he needles 9 are engaged by the jacks- 7 .to be elevated to the uppermost latch-clearing level A, needles 9a being shown at such position. At this level, the latches of the needles have been cleared in conventional manner, the

latches 10 being shown in their lowered position; and itis from such latch-clearing position that the needles are prepared to engage the loop forming yarn, as will here; inafter appear. The alternate unselected needles 8 pass through the unobstructed slots in pattern wheel 6, and are engaged by the separating cam 11 which brings them down to Welt level B, from which they are elevated,.at the next station, to a loop forming level, as will hereinafter appear.

The selected needles 9, during the operative movement of the machine, come into engagement with the inter: mediate tuck cam 12, and are brought down to the tuck level C. It is at this level that the needles 9 engage the loop yarn 13 extending downwardly from feed 14. Needles 9 are then engaged by the stitch cam 15 which brings them down to a sutficiently low level to enablethem to performloop and stitch-forming operations. The backing yarn .16, extending from feed 17, is disposed atthelevel of the throatslS of sinkers 19, the loop yarn "13- being disposed above the noses 2 of the sinkers (Figure 2). Asthe needles 9 are being drawn downbythe stitch cam 15, they not only engage and pull down the loop yarn 13, but also the backing yarn 16. This operation occurs substantially in region K (Fig. l), the begin-- ning of a loop 21 being shown produced by needle 9b, the;- previous loop in formation 22 being shown slightly longer and produced by needle9c (which is now also engagingyarn 16), and the fully formed loop 23 beingshown formed by needle 9d which has also formed a backing stitch 24.

Needles 8 and 9 of both series are engaged by the stitch cam 15, to be brought down to their cast-off level P-at which they clear the stitch cam, after which they are all elevated by the approach cam 25 to approach level P. It is at this level that all the needles come into engagement with the pattern wheel 26 whichconstitutes the beginning of a new station. I acks 27 are so arranged within the pattern wheel 26 as to elevate the previously unselected needles, that is needles 8; and these are elevated to the latch-clearing level A, needles 8a being shown at such level, ready to engage the loop yarn 28 extending from feed 29, as well as a subsequent backing yarn 45 extending from feed 46, precisely in the manner that the previously selected needles 9 had engaged the loop yarn 13, and backing yarn 16. The loop forming and knitting cycle is repeated in the manner aforesaid, the previously selected needles 9 now passing through the pattern wheel 26 to be depressed to a welt position at which they will be out of engagement with the yarn, precisely as occurred with needles 8 at the previous station. stitch cam 48 and approach cam 49 are positioned for operative engagement with the needles 8 and 9, beyond feeds 29 and 46, in the same manner as the needles engaged by the respective corresponding cams 12, and 25.

In Figure 3, the loop and backing stitch forming action is illustrated by the relative position of needles, sinkers and yarn which are shown in perspective. The loop yarn 13 is shown engaged by needles 92, 9f, 9g, 9h, 9i, the alternate needles 8b, 8c, 8d and 8e being at such a low level as to be out of engagement not only with the uppermost loop yarn 13, but also with the backing yarn 16. The loop section 30 is stretched over the noses a and 20b of sinkers 19a and 1%, the anchorage points being at points 31 and 32. The backing yarn 16 is stretched across the said sinkers 19a and 19b along the level of throats 18a and 18b, respectively. When the sinkers are retracted, as illustrated by the dot-dash sinkers 19c and 19a, the loop 33 is formed between needles 9g and 91, a welt float being formed by yarn section 37.

In the operation above-described, it is evident that loop yarn section is not drawn down by the needle 8e between sinkers 19a and 19b, and hence is relatively longer than it would have been if said needle 82 had engaged section 30 to draw that down, as occurs in conventional machines. The result of this knitting operation is such that loop 33, formed as aforesaid after the retraction of sinkers 19c and 19d, is considerably longer than would be possible with conventional methods where each needle engages the loop yarn. And since there are fewer anchorage points 31 and 32, there are fewer points of abrasion, as well as fewer pulls per unit of length of loop yarnwhereby yarn with relatively weaker tensile strength may be employed than is possible with conventional methods.

The fabric produced by the method and apparatus above-described is diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 4. The loop yarn 13, being engaged by alternate selected needles (in series 9) simultaneously with the engagement by said needles of backing yarn 16, form double loops 35 in alternate wales G, I, K and M, in course D. In wales H, J and L in the same course, the long loops 36 are formed; and in these last-mentioned wales" (H, J and L) and course D, the backing yarn 16 is floated across the sinker throats to form float sections 37. It will be observed, however, that in each of said wales there is a continuity of chains of stitches, such as inter-knitted stitches 38 and 39 in wale H.

In the particular fabric illustrated, the said alternate wales G, I, K and M in course E contain the long loops 41 and floats 42, whereas the wales H, J and L in course E contain the double loops 43. It will be noted that all the floats and loops are extensions of the double stitches in laterally adjacent wales.

- In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred man- As will be noted from Fig. 5, the tuck cam 47,

ner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein. For example, the illustrated arrangement of wales in which the loops are formed is not limited to the alternate construction described, since other arrangements may be employed within the scope and intent of this invention, the requirement for one preferred arrangement being that pre-selected needles for loop formations remain, at some subsequent station, unselected, whereas previously unselected needles are selected, at certain other stations, to perform loop-forming or other knitting operations. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or manner of practicing same, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine having independent, vertically movable latch needles, sinkers with upper nose and lower throat levels and a plurality of operating stations. two successive feeds at each of said stations for supplying a loop yarn substantially at said nose level and a backing yarn substantially at said throat level, means for actuating certain predetermined non-successive needles at one of said stations to engage yarn from both of said feeds and draw them down to below said throat level, whereby backing stitches are formed in wales defined by the operative vertical paths of said respective non-successive needles and loops and floats are formed therebetween, means to maintain certain other non-successive needles out of engagement with the yarn from said two feeds at said station, means for actuating said other non-successive needles at another station to engage yarn from the two said feeds at said latter station and draw them down to below said throat level, whereby backing stitches are formed in wales defined by the operative vertical paths of said respective other nonsuccessive needles and loops and floats are formed therebetween, and means to maintain said first-mentioned non-successive needles out of engagement with the yarn from said two feeds at said last-mentioned station.

2. In a circular knitting machine having at least two series of independent, vertically movable latch needles, sinkers with upper nose and lower throat levels and a plurality of operating stations, the needles of said two series being alternately arranged with respect to each other, whereby each needle of each series is succeeded by a needle of the other series, two successive feeds at each of said stations for supplying a loop yarn substantially at said nose level and a backing yarn substantially at said throat level, means for actuating the needles of one of said series at one of said stations to engage yarn from both of said feeds and draw them down to below said throat level, whereby backing stitches are formed in wales defined by the operative vertical paths of the respective needles of said series and loops and floats are formed therebetween, means to maintain the needles of said other series out of engagement with the yarn from said two feeds at said station, means for actuating the needles of said other series at another station to engage yarn from the two said feeds at said latter station and draw them down to below said throat level, whereby backing stitches are formed in wales defined by the operative vertical paths of the respective needles of said last-mentioned series and loops and floats are formed therebetween, and means to maintain the needles of the first-mentioned series out of engagement with the yarn from said two feeds at said last-mentioned station.

3. In a circular knitting machine having at least two series of non-successive independent, vertically movable latch needles, sinkers with upper nose and lower throat levels and a plurality of operating stations, two feeds at certain of said stations for supplying a loop yarn substantially at said nose level and a backing yarn substantially at said throat level, means for actuating the needles of one of said series at a station with said two feeds to engage yarn from both of said feeds and draw them down to below said throat level, whereby backing stitches are formed in wales defined by the operative vertical paths of the respective needles of said series and loops and floats are formed therebetween, means to maintain the needles of the other series out of engagement with the yarn from said two feeds at said last-mentioned station, and means for operatively actuating the needles of said other series at another station to a yarn-engaging position.

4. In a method of knitting on a circular latch needle machine having independent, vertically movable latch needles, sinkers with upper nose and lower throat levels and a plurality of operating stations, the steps of feeding loop yarn substantially at said nose level and backing yarn substantially at said throat level at one of said stations, selecting a first series of non-successive needles and bringing them to a position for taking said loop yarn, lowering said selected needles to engage said loop and backing yarns and drawing them down to below said throat level, to form wales of backing stitches and loops and floats therebetween, maintaining a second se ries of needles that were not selected out of engagement with said yarns at said station, feeding loop yarn and backing yarn at a subsequent station substantially at said respective nose and throat levels, bringing the needles of said second series to a position for taking the loop yarn at said subsequent station, lowering the needles of said second series to engage the loop and backing yarns at said subsequent station and drawing them down to below said throat level, to form wales of backing stitches and loops and floats therebetween, and maintaining said needles of said first series out of engagement with the yarn from said two feeds at said subsequent station.

5. In a method of knitting on a circular latch needle machine having independent, vertically movable latch needles, sinkers with upper nose and lower throat levels and a plurality of operating stations, the steps of feeding loop yarn substantially at said nose level and backing yarn substantially at said throat level at one of said stations, selecting a first series of alternate needles and bringing them to a position for taking said loop yarn, lowering said selected needles to engage said loop and backing yarns and drawing them down to below said throat level, to form wales of backing stitches and loops and floats therebetween, maintaining the alternate nonselected needles constituting a second series of needles out of engagement with said yarns at said station, feeding loop yarn and backing yarn at the next station substantially at said respective nose and throat levels, bringing the said non-selected alternate needles of said second series to a position for taking the loop yarn at said next station, lowering said needles of said second series to engage the loop and backing yarns at said next station and drawing them down to below said throat level, to form wales of backing stitches and loops and floats therebetween, and maintaining said needles of said first series out of engagement with the yarn from said two feeds at said next station.

6. In a method of knitting on a circular latch needle machine having independent, vertically movable latch needles, sinkers with upper nose and lower throat levels and a plurality of operating stations, the steps of feeding loop yarn substantially at said nose level and backing yarn substantially at said throat level at one of said stations, bringing a first series of selected non-successive needles to a position for taking said loop yarn, lowering said selected needles to engage said loop and backing yarns and drawing them down to below said throat level, to form wales of backing stitches and loops and floats therebetween, maintaining the non-selected needles constituting a second series of needles out of engagement with said yarns at said station, feeding selected yarn at a subsequent station, bringing the said non-selected needles of said second series to a position for taking the said selected yarn at said subsequent station, and lowering said needles of said second series to engage said selected yarn at said subsequent station and drawing them down to below said throat level, to perform a stitch forming operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 810,578 Steber Jan. 23, 1906 1,801,167 McAdams Apr. 14, 1931 2,116,358 Leedham et al. May 3, 1938 2,276,705 Smith Mar. 17, 1942 2,379,852 Nebel July 3, 1945 

